What Does My MRI Scan Report Indicate?

Posted on Fri, 23 Jun 2017

Question: My left foot has swollen up by 20%. I am waiting to take an mri on saturday. I noticed that a a pair of athletic pants with elastic bottom had made an indented line above the ankle. I'm a golf professional with three previous microdiscectomies and what the MD feels will be a fourth. I have elevated the foot and want to know if I should go to the "walk in" or take something over the counter at the pharmacy. Thank You
Greg

Answered by Dr. Lekshmi Rita Venugopal (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Advice to follow up with emergency/ urgent care

Detailed Answer:
Hello XXXXXXX
Thank you for trusting HealthcareMagic,

Acute onset edema(swelling) in one leg require further evaluation. The important causes that need to be considered are trauma, cellulitis(infection of the skin), and deep vein thrombosis (blood clot in deep veins of the leg).

If you do not have a recollection of any trauma, then cellulitis and DVT needs to be ruled out. Both these conditions need immediate medical attention.

Physical examination, Blood culture, Imaging studies(eg. Doppler scan) to look for clot are needed.
Please be advised to go to the emergency room/urgent care for further evaluation and a prompt management.

Hope I was able to help you
Please feel free to address further questions here

Regards
Dr.Lekshmi

Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee